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Futures on indexes in Japan, Australia and South Korea advanced before reports on Chinese growth, retail sales and factory output this morning. — Reuters picTOKYO, Oct 19 — Stocks in Asia were poised to extend their rebound, with most index futures foreshadowing gains ahead of key data on the region’s biggest economy. The dollar held declines, while crude oil climbed for a second day.

Shares in New Zealand rallied from a three-month low after gains in the US and Europe helped lift MSCI’s global equity gauge by the most in almost a month. Futures on indexes in Japan, Australia and South Korea advanced before reports on Chinese growth, retail sales and factory output. The Australian dollar traded near a two-week high and the pound maintained its rebound following a second day of losses for the greenback. US crude jumped after industry data was said to show American stockpiles dropped last week.

Odds on the Federal Reserve raising interest rates by the end of the year are down about five per centage points from where they were a week ago after a report showed US consumer prices excluding food and fuel costs rose less than forecast last month. Weakness in the global economy, including evidence of slackening growth in China, helped stay the Fed’s hand at the start of 2016, and today’s data is projected to show China’s expansion held at 6.7 per cent last quarter. The Aussie dollar and industrial metals are particularly sensitive to sentiment surrounding the world’s second-largest economy.

“Inflation lows are in but the core measures remaining steady suggests only gradual monetary policy tightening in the US,” Con Williams, an agricultural economist in Wellington at ANZ Bank New Zealand Ltd, said in a client note. Today, “the focus will be offshore with Chinese data for economic growth, retail sales and industrial production.”

As well as the Chinese data, today brings figures on skilled vacancies in Australia, consumer prices in Malaysia and the Philippine balance of payments. Hong Kong reviews its key interest rate.

Stocks

New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 Index, the first major stock gauge to start trading each day, added 0.2 per cent as of 7:36 am Tokyo time (6:36am in Malaysia), rallying after its worst day since Sept. 12.

In Australia, futures on the S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.2 per cent in most recent trading, while contracts on the Kospi index in Seoul were up 0.1 per cent with those on the FTSE China A50 Index. In Hong Kong, futures on the Hang Seng Index climbed 0.2 per cent.

Yen-denominated Nikkei 225 Stock Average futures were up less than 0.1 per cent to 16,950 in Chicago, after gaining 0.6 per cent in the previous session. Singapore-listed Nikkei 225 futures rose 0.3 per cent to 16,975, while those in Osaka dropped 0.1 per cent to 16,930.

Futures on the S&P 500 Index were steady at 2,132.50 after the underlying benchmark climbed 0.6 per cent from a one-month low last session.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc gained 2.2 per cent yesterday after posting a 47 per cent increase in earnings, while Netflix Inc surged 19 per cent after reporting a jump in subscribers that alleviated concern about slowing growth. International Business Machines Corp slipped the most since June after saying that profit margins shrank for the fourth quarter in a row.

“We’ve been selling off for the better part of a week at this point, and earnings have been good enough to get us into this bounce,” said Michael Antonelli, an institutional equity sales trader and managing director at Robert W. Baird & Co in Milwaukee.

While only 57 S&P 500 members have reported so far, 83 per cent have posted earnings that exceeded analysts’ estimates, with expectations on sales beaten for 68 per cent of companies, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. — Bloomberg